Automatic switch.



G. R, AUSTIN.

AUTOMATIG SWITCH.

APPLICATION nun APB. a0, 1901.

Patented July 19, 1910.

IHI name's PZTERS 00., WAsJ-lmcfou, nc.

CHARLES R. AUSTIN, OF LONGBEACI-I, CALIFORNIA.

AUTOMATIC SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 30, 1907.

Patented July 19, 1910.

Serial No. 371,187.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES R. AUSTIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Longbeach, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Automatic Switch, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an automatic switch for use in telephone and other systems wherein it is desired to bring a circuit automatically into connection with any one of a number of other circuits. Such a switch is applicable in automatic telephone systems or in semiautomatic systems in se lecting automatically any one of a number of trunk lines or of local circuits such as cord circuits. Where there are a plurality of such circuits it may be that one or more of the same are in use when a new call is coming in or being sent out and that it is necessary to divert the call or connection over one of the unused lines or circuits.

The main object of the present invention is to perform this selection of an unused circuit automatically.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a front elevation of the switch. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.

The automatic switch comprises an arm 1 mounted to turn on an axis 2 and drawn by spring means 8 in a given direction, its motion in that direction being arrested by a stop 4, said arm being operated in the other direction by a magnet or solenoid 5, whose core or armature 6 is connected to a strap 7 operating over a segment 8 connected to said arm. Said arm carries four insulated contacts 9, 10, 11, 12, passing, in the operation of the arm, respectively over four rows of contacts 18, 14, 15, 16, arranged on an insulating plate 17 in concentric relation to the axis of motion of the arm 1. Said arm is also provided with a ratchet rack segment 18 to be engaged by a stop 19 on the armature lever 20 of a stop magnet 21. This armature lever carries a contact 22 cooperating with a fixed contact 23 to control connections to the automatic switch as hereinafter set forth. The four contacts 9, 10, 11

and 12 are in the form of springs or brushes to slide over the fixed contacts 13, 1 1, etc, 1 and are connected by wires 25 and flexible connections 26 to circuit wires as hereinafter set forth.

The switch herein shown is adapted for use in various situations in a telephone sys tem. In my application Serial No. 371,188 filed April 30, 1907, I have shown its application to a central station and also to a substation, and have claimed it in connection with the system shown therein.

The present application relates particularly to the construction of the switch, inde' pendent of its connection to any particular system, and I have herein shown only so much of its connection to a system as will suffice to illustrate its operation, the connec tion shown being those for a central station.

27, 28 designate the two sides of a trunk or line leading into or from the station. In a central station the automatic switch serves as a jack switch. The two rows of contacts 13, 1d are connected by wires 33, 34.- with the front contacts of two armatures 85, 86 of a relay 10, said armatures being connected to the two sides 27, 28 of the trunk or line. There is a pair of contacts 13, 1.4L for each trunk or line leading into or out of the station and each trunk or line would be multipled to correspomling contacts 13, 14: in all of these automatic switches, there being as many of such switches as there are spring jacks, or in case of a substation, as many of the switches as there are subscribers lines. The two rows of contacts 15, 16 are connected to local multiple lines 55, 56 which are multipled to corresponding contacts in all of the automatic switches. Said wire is connected to ground through a connection 39 including the relay 4C0 aforesaid, which, on operation, serves to close the line arma tures 35, 36 onto the wires connecting with the rows of contacts 13, 1 1 to remove said armatures from the back contacts which are connected to signal devices in the central station in the usual manner. lVire 56 is grounded through back contact of a relay 50, which is included in a ground from wire 55. The battery tl, grounded at one end, is connected at the other end directly to the brush 11 and is also connected. to suitable selective impulse transmitter means 42 adapted to send sequential series of impulses over two wires 4-3, 44: connected respectively to the brushes 9, 10. Brush 12 is connected to a wire 45 leading to the stop magnet 21 and to the armature 20 thereof. The front contact 23 for said armature is grounded at 57 This brush 12 is made longer, or with its contact portion in advance of the other brushes, so that it will make contact with the row of contacts 16 before any of the other brushes make contact with the corresponding systems, as it may contacts 18, 1a, 15 in the same radial row.

This brush, therefore, acts as a feeler, mak-- ing a trial connection to bring the stop magnet 21 into operation to stop the movement of the automatic switch as soon as connection is. made with a trunk line which is not in use. The magnet 5 is connected in circuit with controlling means, namely, the jack -17 in the battery circuit 48, a9, the jack circuit 18, 19 including a relay 52 controlling a circuit connected through a solenoid 5 to ground and also connected to magnet 21. lVhen the battery circuit is closed it will operate the solenoid to pull the automatic switch over, bringing the contacts 9, 10, 11, 12 successively on the series of fixed contacts 13, 1st, 15, 16. Assuming that there is no trunk line in use, as soon as the brush 12 comes on the first contact 16 the circuitwill be closed from the battery through connections 48, 17, stt), magnet 21, brush 12, contact 10, wire 38, through the back contact and armature of relay 50 to ground, but if the trunk line connected to said relay is in use the said armature will open its back contact and this ground connection will be broken. The switch will therefore continue to move until the brush 12 touches the contact 16 connected to a trunk line which is not in use, and whose relay 50 is therefore inoperative. lVhen this occurs, the current will fiow as stated, energizing the stop magnet 21 and causing it to arrest the motion of the automatic switch and to close a ground 5'? for the circuit of said stop magnet independent of the ground controlled by the relay 50. The said stop magnet will therefore remain in operated position, holding the automatic switch in such position until the controlling device 17 and relay 52 again operate to break the operating circuit, and solenoid 5 and magnet 21 become deenergized and permit the parts to be in normal position. lVhen the motion of the automatic switch is arrested by the stop magnet 21, the contact brush 12 has moved beyond the switch contact 16, opening the trial ground and leaving stop magnet under the control of the initial controlling circuit. At this time the three remaining contacts, in the radial row with the aforesaid contact 16, are touched by the re spective brushes, closing by contacts 9, 10, 11 the two circuits for the selective impulse transmitter 42 to the respective sides of the trunk line and also closing by the connections 37, 55, 39 a circuit through relay 50 to ground, opening the ground corresponding to this trunk line and preventing any other automatic switch from cutting in on this row of contacts. The nextautomatic switch to operate will therefore have to pass to the next row of contacts to find an unused circuit.

The invention is not limited to telephone be used with telegraph, police or fire systems where a plurality of trunk lines are used and selection has to be made of an unused trunk line.

lVhat I claim is 1. An automatic switch for telephone or other systems comprising a series of fixed contacts, a movable contact, a. carrier for the movable contact, a reciprocating electromagnetic operating means connected to said carrier to cause the movable contact to move progressively by a single movement over the series of fixed contacts, electromagnetically controlled stop means for said carrier, and an operating circuit for said stop means.

An automatic switch for telephone or other systems comprising a plurality of series of fixed contacts, movable contacts tor the respective series of fixed contacts, a carrier for said movable contacts and electro magnetic operating means for said carrier to cause the movable contacts to move progressively by a single movement over the series of fixed contacts, one of said series of contacts and the corresponding movable contact having circuit connections for an electromotive source and for a circuit to which connection is to be made, and electromagnetically controlled stop means tor the aforesaid carrier.

3. An automatic switch for telephone or other systems comprising a plurality ()ff series of fixed contacts, movable contacts for the respective series of fixed contacts, a carrier for said movable contacts and electromagnetic operating means for said carrier to cause the movable contacts to move progressively over the series 01" fixed contacts, one of said series of contacts and the corresponding movable contact having circuit connections for an electromotive source and for a circuit to which connection is to be made, electromagnetically controlled stop means for the aforesaid carrier, and circuit connections controlled by the operation of said step means to establish a circuit for the electromagnetic control for said stop means independent of the operating circuit therefor.

a. An automatic switch for telephone or other systems comprising a plurality of series of fixed contacts, movable contacts for the respective series of fixed contacts, a carrier for said movable contacts and electromagnetic operating means tor said carrier to cause the movable contacts to move pro gressively over the series of fixed contacts, one of said series of contacts and the corresponding movable contact having circuit connections for an electromotive source and for a circuit to which connection is to be made, electromagnetically controlled stop means for the aforesaid carrier, and circuit connections controlled by the operation of said stop means to establish a circuit for the electromagnetic control for said stop means independentof the operating circuit therefor, the movable contact for said operating circuit being located to close said circuit in advance of the operation of the closure of the circuits controlled by the other movable contacts.

5. An automatic switch for telephone or other systems comprising a plurality of series of fixed contacts, movable contacts for the respective series of fixed contacts, a carrier for said movable contacts and electromagnetic operating means for said carrier to cause the movable contacts to move progressively over the series of fixed contacts, one of said series of contacts and the corresponding movable contact having circuit connections for an electromotive source and for a circuit to which connection is to be made, electromagnetically controlled stop means for the aforesaid carrier, and circuit connections controlled by the operation of said stop means to establish a circuit for the electromagnetic control for said stop means independent of the operating circuit therefor, the movable contact for said operating circuit being located to close said circuit in advance of the operation of the closure of the circuits controlled by the other movable contacts, one of said other circuits including means for opening the said operating circuit for the stop means.

(3. An automatic switch comprising a carrier, a plurality of movable contacts carried thereby, an electromagnetic operating means for said carrier, an operating circuit for said electromagnetic means, electromagnetically operated stop means for said carrier, an operating circuit therefor, a series of contacts cooperating with one of the movable contacts and controlling the operating circuit for the stop means, two series of contacts cooperating with the movable contacts aforesaid and having circuit connections for opposite sides of trunk lines, another series of fixed contacts cooperating with another of the movable contacts and circuit connections therefor including magnets controlling the aforesaid trunk lineconnections for the first two series of contacts, and also including a relay for opening the operating connection of the stop means, and circuit connections controlled by operation of the stop means to close a circuit for the controlling magnet thereof, independent of the circuit closed by the automatic switch, an electromotive source, and a controlling device connected to control the operating connection for the switch operating and stop means.

7 An automatic switch for telephone or other systems comprising a plurality of se ries of fixed contacts, movable contacts, .a carrier for said movable contacts and e1ectromagnetic operating means for said carrier to cause the movable contacts to move progressively over the series of fixed contacts, one of said series of contacts and the corresponding movable contact having circuit connections for an electromotive source and for a circuit to which connection is to be made, electromagnetically cont-rolled stop means for the aforesaid carrier, circuit connections controlled by the operation of said stop means to establish a circuit for the electromagnetic control for said stop means independent of the operating circuit therefor, and means controlled by the line circuit to which connection is to be made for controlling the said operating circuit for the stop means.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles California this 20th day of April 1907.

CHARLES R. AUSTIN.

In presence of ARTHUR P. KNIGHT,

FRANK L. A. GRAHAM. 

